robert's blog

So what does Alicia Keys, Jamaican Dancehall and American Music Awards have in common? Last night at the American Music Awards 2007, Alicia Keys and her accompanying Jamaican artist, Beenie Man, Junior Reid, Chaka Demus and Pliers stole the show. Opening her performance with one of her new hit single, Alicia invited on stage, each Jamaican artist one after the other, churning out back-to-back hits of Jamaican dancehall. Her gyrating hips show how much of an expert she has become in Jamaican dancehall.

It is October 29, 2007 and I am writing from JFK Airport waiting for a connecting flight to Buffalo New York, returning from sunny Sarasota on a personal trip. Sarasota is one of the top retirement communities in the USA. With a population of under 100,000 people it is pretty much a laid back town and remains relatively "American". While driving through one of the main roads in Sarasota, I spot a Jamaican flag flying on what I discovered later as a Jamaican restaurant

South African Reggae artist, Lucky Dube was murdered in his homeland last night, October 19th. The world has lost a great entertainer who embraced Jamaican music and was an ambassador for the music. The tragedy reflects similar social issues facing both South Africa and Jamaica where crime has become apart of the daily lives of ordinary citizens.

It’s a new way to watch TV. On one of many visits to dancehallreggae.com (well checking out those girls getting on bad), I note a new label on their videos (BC). This was a departure from the usual Youtube embedded videos. So I decided to find out which website was hosting these videos (I thought perhaps another Youtube clone).

I have been reading the story carried in the Jamaican Gleaner about Prophet Phinn and his predictions for the Jamaican election based on the “Science of Sevens”. Being the typical sceptic, I had to do some further investigation on my own. I am not sure how to interpret for fear of being chastise. But who is this Dr Phinn? It turns out that he has a long list of qualifications. He is an international motivational speaker, minister, author, and lecturer, advisor, counselling psychologist, businessman, economic and financial consultant and teacher.